Sony PSN Outage Almost Over: Will Any Good Come From Hacking?

Here at OSM we’ve been keeping you informed with all the latest about the Sony PlayStation Network outage since the very beginning. Earlier today we told about the Sony Press Conference that had just taken place in Tokyo where Sony issued an apology and said that service will resume this week. We’re wondering now that the Sony PSN outage is almost over, whether any good can ultimately come out of this hacking story.

Among our numerous articles about this incident, two of our recent posts include the fact that GeoHot stated that he was not behind the outage, and whether the situation meant users would consider moving from the PS3 to the Xbox 360. Among one of the things that has already come out of the outage is the ‘Welcome Back’ campaign that Sony announced at its press conference, whereby there will be some free software downloads available and a free 30-day subscription to PlayStation Plus for those affected.

Will any other good points come out of it though? On the lighthearted side we could expect that some people will have unexpectedly spent more time with their families, and may have even enjoyed that time. Others will have found some other gaming alternatives to enjoy. Gieson Cacho over on A+E Interactive has also come up with some pointers about good things that may arise because of the outage. One of those is an overwhelming goodwill gesture but we’ve already heard today about the ‘Welcome Back’ campaign and although this is indeed welcome, we’d hardly call it overwhelming. Maybe Sony will surprise us yet with a bonus gesture?

Another suggestion is that after the controversy that the crisis has caused Sony, security will become the very best that it can be. We’ve already heard today that PSN and Qriocity services are being moved to a new data center and that increased security measures are being put in place, plus once the PSN is back up-and-running it will be compulsory for users to change their passwords. Cacho also says that another good thing that could come from this fiasco is that more people will start to use prepaid PSN cards rather than credit cards.

To read more on this check out the A+E Interactive link above. Meanwhile over on GamrConnect there’s an interesting forum thread whereby Scottie has attempted to work out the cost of the recent attacks on Sony. Costs include the cost to fix the problem, the cost of consumer goodwill and also the cost of the loss of revenue from that loss of goodwill. For now though we’d like to hear from you about what good points, if any, you can imagine seeing from this Sony PSN outage, so please do send us your comments.

yo id wanna know if it will cum on tomorrow…its the bank holiday, ya kno?

gtbaxter

A controversial good comes in the form of understanding.
An understanding that information in huge amounts is being stolen by a person or group intent on gathering information about as many people as possible.
secret services loosing laptops, to the information of millions of people on welfare in england.
where will it lead next and what will it be used for.
I think this attack is good for making me ask this very question.
(if you don't agree, thats cool. just make a positive comment.)
Thanks

most definately,been asking the same question myself,we trust these people all over the world with confidential details and are they really safe,all i can say is where theres a will theres a way if somebody is determined enough,we trust these sites and i dont know why,everyone has been hacked at some time or another,we dont get to hear about it tho,what i will say is sony did do the right thing by pulling the plug will i trust them again answer no i'll buy pre paid cards

Avatar

1st happy days lol im glad it'l be back as a loyal ps3 customer im not overly down bout the outage gave me a chance 2 make some gd progress on dragons age 2 gr8 game also very pleased with this welcome back scheme as an owner of the free network since release they really wernt neccecitated in giving people stuff unless off course you had a ongoing subscription but even those are seeing justice as for missing only 2 weeks of ps + service they are gaining back a net gain of 45 days free along with the increase of security i think everybody wins gd job sony

tht

sony are nobs but i still love my ps3

joe king

well i think its an outrage that a company as big as sony could let sumthing like this happen and with so many people's details being taken i kno that i will be selling my ps3 if ne1 wil want it that is and i wil be getting the xbox 360 thank u very much…….

NzStR8rIpPn

that’s abit stupid dont you think selln ur ps3 and geting an xbox 360 thay are no good ul be paying to play online then foolish. people need to stay loyal to sony,

Un biased

Xbox live was hacked within months of its release!!!! so you go buy your xbox and piss off jerk, dont come back, your not welcome in the playstation community.

ian

sad

Deeman

Ya, because mo one ever hacks Microsoft.

ian

when will psn online be back on ??? any idea ?

http://www.greenpeace.org Paul

It's served as a very valuable security lesson to Sony as well as all other online services that hold personal data of it's user/client base. Keeping these companies on their toes is, at the end of the day, in the interest of the public.
Sony's respect for our loyalty and having to put up with the Xbox fanboy mentality from LIVE users over the last couple of weeks must be commended and, as mentioned in your article, rewarded with a token freebie at least.. we're so easily pleased

craig

I think Sony will be relishing the fact that most of their customers will get a free trial of Playstation Plus, its a great opportunity for their customers to sample this service, with the knowledge that lots of them will go on to sign up to the service and line Sony's pockets further.

amir

hi i actually had alot of faith in sony that they wil recover from the hack asap not like other people who changed the consoles into xbox 360 or any other i would call them 'traiters' no offence but its true thanx sony for all the upgrades on the ps3 i appeciate it thanx and good luck!

scotty

thumbs up to sony for hopefully giving us freebies??? As a loyal sony and playstation fan for a decade now this hasnt bothered me one bit, in fact id be gutted if I was an xbox owner and this happened cause paying for an online subscription is an absolute disgrace plus xbox being second to sony anyway. Basically no one or company is perfect in this world and something like this is a minor glitch in sonys ultimate rain in superiority. Ive had a fantastic 2 weeks off the computer with all this hot weather in england its been great. So thanks Mr hacker for making sony improve there products even more and becoming the No1 technology company in the world, Im sure you will all agree that you’ve all had your moneys worth out of the ps3’s anyway??? 300 quid on a product over 6 years that constantly give you freebies like vidzone, iplayer, itv player, 4OD = priceless. I know where my loyalty lies.

Tyro

well i think its an outrage that a company as big as microsoft could let sumthing like the red ring of death happen and with so many people's xbox 360's being destroyed i kno that i will be selling my xbox 360 if ne1 wil want it that is and i wil be getting the wii thank u very much……. (Oh shit sorry thought we were doing mad libs 8-P)

steven dalton

ps3 is the way forward i sold my xbox 360 for a ps3 xbox is crap no one can moan about this hackin coz at the end the day the online service is free unlike xbox so dunt bother me to much jus missed playin online & i wont be usen my card online no more so i will stick with a points card thank you sony great work

bread

can anyone just say when or hold some kind of online press confrence just let me know becuz i'l just return the peace of crap and ill just get a xbox and for the year